February is American Heart Month, a time to pay special attention to understanding, preventing and treating heart disease – the leading cause of death in the nation.
This February, the 58th American Heart Month, the AHA is urging people all over the country to “reclaim your rhythm.”
As I cardiologist, this is what I urge everyone to do. As a poet, I put my own spin on it.
Let it beat…
Every heart, in every man and woman alive
Let it beat in synchrony, let it thrive..
*
Who knew this heart would be weak
Though the family history seemed somewhat bleak
Optimism bias prevented you
From thinking you could be a victim too
Until you were on the table with a catheter in your forearm
You received help before incurring significant harm
*
You were annoyed at any insinuation
That smoking was harmful for your constitution
Your breathing was fine, you would insist
Any attempts to stop smoking you would resist
You ignored fleeting chest pains until the day
Your breath was literally taken away
Now the scar on your chest reminds you
Of the stub of the last cigarette you threw
*
An Epicurean lifestyle you epitomized
You tried every drug, partied hard, and never realized
The toll your habits would take on your heart
Until the day it stopped beating and got a jumpstart
You feel your defibrillator under your skin
When old habits you want to indulge in
*
Weight was your Achilles’ heel, you knew
Excess weight accompanied diabetes and hypertension too
Fad diets and exercise did not seem to work
You were discouraged despite knowing danger lurked
Until your breathlessness got worse and you found
Your heart muscle was weak, it was an epiphany profound
With the help of your team and your own
motivation
You turned your life around, in the right direction
*
You were proud of your workaholic ways
You sat for hours at a computer most days
Snacked mindlessly, your sleep curtailed
A type-A go-getter, you could not fail
Or so you thought until your heart sent
Warning signals to you and out of rhythm went
You are back in a normal rhythm now
Less stress and more sleep yourself you allow
*
You could not place your finger on what it was, but you knew
Something was wrong, beyond menopause blues
No one had even thought of heart disease
Until a random ECG showed abnormalities
You were stumped, you never had chest pain that you could recall
Besides high blood pressure in pregnancy, you had not been sick at all
That was the first time you found out what is now well known
That women have atypical symptoms of heart disease, you were not alone
Now you are vigilant about your symptoms and refrain
From explaining them away as part of life’s stress and strain
*
You thought from COVID you had made
A complete recovery, but you stayed
Short of breath, and your ankles did swell
Little did you know the trouble this would spell
The infection damaged your heart muscle some
You are on treatment now, you hope to overcome
This second hit that COVID gave you
You know this was not “just the flu”
*
So many risk factors for heart disease
Lurk everywhere, we must look out for these
The organ that accompanies us unflinchingly
From birth to death, throughout our journey
Deserves more attention, we must make
Changes to our lifestyle, for the heart’s sake..
Passion...unbridled 